New Delhi: The opposition parties, including the Congress, the RJD, the AAP and the DMK, Wednesday criticised a NCERT-constituted panel’s nod to replace India with Bharat in social science textbooks.
In contrast, the BJP leaders unanimously welcomed the move and suggested that the opposition parties should not object if they believe in the Constitution.
ThePrint was the first to report the development quoting Prof C.I. Issac (retd.), a historian and RSS ideologue Wednesday. Issac, the chairperson of high-level NCERT committee for social sciences, also said the committee suggested toning down the focus on “Hindu defeats” in the curriculum.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that the attempt wass “anti-Indian” and that “the NCERT has been forced by the government”.
“Why are we saying the Reserve Bank of India, Indian Administrative Service and Indian Foreign Service? In our passports, we have the Republic of India. I think something wrong has happened to this government. Why are they confusing the minds of Indians? Whatever stand they have taken is completely anti-people, anti-India, and anti-Bharat… I am telling you they (NCERT) have been forced by the NDA government. This is completely wrong. You can’t change the history of India. Karnataka will continue with whatever there was earlier,” he said.
Karnataka minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge also said that the BJP is getting into miscellaneous issues instead of focusing on real issues.
“It was evident that the central government would go ahead and do such a thing. Problem with the government is that they are on a name changing spree. I don’t see what is the problem with Bharat that is India, which has been there in the Constitution as well. This is nothing but miscellaneous issues the government is getting into instead of trying to focus on administration and tackle real issues. What about poverty index, economic inequality, press freedom index?“ he told the media.
Senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal said that the BJP is “neither sincere towards Bharat nor towards India”. Name change is merely a tactic by the BJP for polarisation politics, he told the media.
VIDEO | “BJP is neither sincere towards ‘Bharat’ nor towards ‘India’. Name change is merely a tactic by the BJP for polarisation politics,” says Congress leader @kcvenugopalmp on NCERT panel recommending replacing ‘India’ with ‘Bharat’ in school textbooks. pic.twitter.com/N7m1zgeYWZ
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 25, 2023
DMK spokesperson Sarvanan Annadurai, meanwhile, said this episode was “nothing but empty rhetoric”. “Today Satyapal Malik’s video with Rahul Gandhi has come out, and they are doing this to divert attention. Will it ensure that people of India will become happier? Will it ensure India will go up in the hunger and press freedom index?” he said.
After a backlash over the development, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) sought to reach out to stakeholders saying it was “premature” to comment.
“Since the development of new syllabus and textbooks is in the process and for that purpose various Curricular Area Groups of domain experts are being notified by the NCERT. So, it is too premature to comment on the news being flashed in the media,” it said in a statement.
Also Read: ‘Burden, impractical’: Why NDA-led Nagaland & Mizoram oppose Sanskrit in school, what other states say
‘India & Bharat are part of Constitution’
Senior CPI-M leader Brinda Karat told ThePrint that she has no comments, because India and Bharat are both a part of the Constitution.
RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha wondered whether the government would change the name again if the opposition alliance changes its name to Bharat.
“Since the I.N.D.I.A. opposition alliance came into existence, different reactions have been coming from the PM to his ministers. Nobody has been able to come up with a name for the alliance to attack it. This is a hysterical and panic-induced reaction. The NCERT is doing this, what will you do with Article 1 which says ‘India that is Bharat? I am unable to understand. They are playing with historical facts. This means history will be written on the basis of counter-factual imagination. They will also play with the name of India,” the Rajya Sabha MP said in a statement.
“What will you do if the I.N.D.I.A alliance changes its name to Bharat. Will you keep a new name — Aryavart, Jambodweep etc?”
Jha’s party colleague Shakti Singh asked whether the government would also remove the name ‘India’ from the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. “When it is clearly mentioned in the constitution that India is Bharat, why is it being removed?” the RJD spokesperson asked.
AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar claimed that this move reflects PM Modi’s fear of I.N.D.I.A alliance.
“He himself named his own schemes — Khelo India, Fit India etc, but now he wants to remove a name that the Constitution permits. They should work on issues of inflation, corruption and unemployment,” she told new agency PTI.
From the BJP ranks, its Tamil Nadu vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy said the NCERT chairman has given valid reasons for why it was done in school curriculum. “…unanimously they have taken this decision and given the recommendation. They have explained how and why this change in NCERT books. They are going to change from ancient India to classical India. Ancient India is described in a very bad form,” he told news agency ANI.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: ‘Invisible planes in 4th century India, rockets of Krishna’s grandson’: What states want in NCERT books